


Required Distance

by unaspectre



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Forbidden Love, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-22
Updated: 2013-07-26
Packaged: 2017-12-21 01:15:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 19,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/894070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unaspectre/pseuds/unaspectre
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They knew what they were doing, they walked into it with their eyes open but when you're required to keep distance from the person you love, it takes its toll.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Not betad again as I have gone over this myself so often it's a wonder I can still read it.  
> This will cover both after the Avengers and flashbacks showing the development of the relationship.  
> Hope it makes sense and you enjoy it.

The steady beep from the monitor measured each heartbeat of the man lying on the bed. A clean white bandage covered his chest while tubes and wires connected him to the machines that were keeping him alive.

Doctors and nurses floated around the small room, softly discussing whether or not they could do anything more for their patient while, seated at his side, a dark-haired woman tapped her fingers against the arm of the chair worriedly.

“Dr Grainger,” the lead doctor said, pulling her attention away from the patient, “I’m afraid there is nothing else we can do.”

“Then he’s going to die?” she asked sadly.

The doctor nodded, “I’m sorry but the damage to his heart was extensive. The implant isn’t working as well as we projected.”

She nodded, “You did your best, Doctor. Now I’m going to have to reach out to the last person I want to.”

Standing she leaned over the prone man, stroking his hair before pressing a kiss to his forehead, “Hold on for me, Phil. Just hold on and I’ll fix this.”

 

“Dr Grainger,” Fury greeted the woman when the communication link opened, “How is he?”

“Not good,” she replied, her head dropping, “The implant isn’t strong enough to completely repair his heart. My team are out of ideas and I only have one left. You know what that is.”

Fury winced, “Alexandrea, I’m not sure if that’s a good idea.”

“I understand why you think that but,” she rubbed her eyes tiredly, “I’m not letting him die for your pride.”

“Stark believes he’s dead,” Fury continued, “I used that. He won’t be happy.”

Alexandrea nodded, “But he will help. Even if it’s just so he can gloat to you that we only saved Phil with his help.”

“I know you’re going to call Stark with or without my agreement,” Fury said, “Thank you for the courtesy call.”

“Phil has great respect for you,” Alexandrea reminded him, “So do I. Despite our previous interactions,” she paused, licking her lips before continuing, “I’ll let you know what happens.”

“Alexandrea,” Fury called before she cut the link, “It was his choice, not mine.”

She chuckled mirthlessly, “But you knew what decision he’d make before you gave him the ultimatum.”

 

The buzz that preceded Tony Stark arriving in the building gave Alexandrea some time to ready herself, she knew that she had to be calm and make sure Stark didn’t focus on the fact he was lied to.

“Alexandrea Grainger,” the man himself greeted her with his trademark smirk, “You were the last person I expected to hear from this morning.”

“Which is why you’re here,” Alexandrea replied, moving to him and exchanging a quick friendly hug, “How’s Pepper?”

“Fine,” Tony nodded, “She says hi. She didn’t seem too bothered about me coming to see you alone.”

“Well I am the one person who never succumbed to your…charms,” Alexandrea shot back.

“So you say,” Tony replied with a flirtatious grin.

Alexandrea gave a small smile before pushing forward, “Tony, the reason I asked you here is for your help. Part of our recent research was around creating an implant to repair damaged hearts. It wasn’t ready but we had to use it to save a man. And it did its job but…”

“Not completely,” Tony finished for her.

Alexandrea nodded, “He’s dying. And I need the best engineer there is to see what went wrong then hopefully help fix it.”

Tony shrugged, “Lead on.”

Alexandrea gave him a quick smile before starting towards the medical wing. She watched closely as Stark nodded cheerfully to everyone who gave him a stunned, awed look.

They stopped outside the door and Alexandrea turned to him again.

“Any personal feelings you have need to be put aside,” Alexandrea told him, “The man in that room is very important to me and I don’t care about anything but saving his life.”

She turned and opened the door ignoring the look of confusion she was getting. Alexandrea moved to check the chart before turning to see Tony Stark speechless as he stared at the patient.

He looked up at her and finally found his voice, “Coulson?”

 

Alexandrea dropped her head into her hands, she was exhausted.

“You should get some sleep,” Tony’s voice made her jump.

Turning to where he was working, she shook her head, “I can’t. Haven’t been able to since this happened.”

“You and Coulson,” Tony said, “Really?”

Alexandrea let out a sigh, “It’s none of your business, Tony.”

“I’m saving his life,” Tony replied lightly, “I think I deserve to know.”

Alexandrea sighed again, “It’s a very, very long story and one without a remotely happy ending, even if he survives.”

Tony stared at her, “So why are you pushing yourself so hard?”

“Because I can’t let him die,” Alexandrea replied, “Anymore than you could let Pepper.”

“Touché,” Tony murmured before hitting the final button with a flourish, “It’s stable. Now we wait.”

*********************************************

Pain. 

It was the first thing his brain registered as he pushed to the surface of consciousness. Confusion followed. A memory surfaced and he saw Loki’s spear appear through his chest. He gasped, choking as it was ripped away and he fell.

“It’s okay,” a soothing voice whispered through the haze, “You’re safe.”

The pain radiated through him as his mind spun.

“Phil,” the same voice called, this time he felt a hand take his, “Focus on my voice. You’re safe, come back to me.”

Forcing his eyes opened he saw her, a smile touching her lips as he looked up at her croaking, “Drea?”

“Hi,” she whispered, stroking his cheek, “You worried me there.”

“What happened?” he breathed.

“You,” a familiar man’s voice said somewhere nearby, “Did something extremely stupid and nearly died.”

He sighed, still confused before a memory appeared, “Drea, did they win?”

There was a pause and he heard the other man say something before Drea smiled down at him again, “Yes. They won.”

Relief filled him and his energy faded, he was exhausted and felt her fingers slide through his hair.

“Drea…”

“Get some rest,” she soothed, “You’re safe. The world is safe. I promise.”

At the gentle ministrations and comforting voice he gave in letting sleep take him once more.

 

Tony watched Alexandrea as she soothed the confused man. He’d known Alexandrea Grainger for years; their families mirrored one another in many ways. His father and her grandfather had worked together and, from what he now knew, had been founding members of SHIELD. They’d only really known one another in a professional capacity due to their family and company connections but during a conference he’d made Pepper go to in his place, Pepper and Alexandrea had become friends bringing her into his circle. Like him Alexandrea had taken over her father’s company. However, unlike him, she hadn’t become self-destructive overwhelmed by the constant pressure of running a successful company. Possibly because she was the youngest of seven, which made him wonder all the more how she became romantically involved with Coulson. 

“Thank you, Tony,” she said sincerely.

He nodded, “Let me know if there are any issues with the implant. Also call me once you’re ready to remove it so I can make sure they don’t kill him after I saved his life.”

Alexandrea nodded, “We can’t let your hard work go to waste.”

“Get some sleep, Alexandrea,” Tony told her, “You look like hell.”

Alexandrea chuckled; “Go away,” smiling as he affectionately squeezed her shoulder before he left her alone.

 

Alexandrea watched Tony Stark leave the room before turning back to the man who was thankfully now fast asleep and no longer unconscious. She let out a long sigh of relief as she relaxed for the first time in what seemed like years.

The exhaustion was pulling her down but she knew she had to make one more call.

“Well?”

Alexandrea frowned at the lack of greeting before she nodded, “Stark did it.”

“Good,” Fury replied, “I’ll send over a team in a few hours.”

“What?”

“Agent Coulson should be within a SHIELD rehabilitation facility,” Fury reminded her.

Alexandrea glared at him, “He’s not stable enough to be moved.”

“You can’t do this, Alexandrea,” Fury reminded her, “I only came to you because your company’s implant was the only possibility to save his life. Not for you to keep him.”

“I’m his next of kin,” Alexandrea stated coldly, “Medical decisions until he’s able to make them himself are mine to make.”

“Actually since he signed the papers, they’re mine,” Fury retorted.

Alexandrea glared at him before stating coldly, “He can’t be moved for a few days. I need to monitor the implant and Stark will be coming back to help remove it.”

“Then you have a few days.”

*********************************************

Phil was exhausted, somehow just sitting upright in bed had taken every bit of energy he had. This was actually the longest he’d managed to stay awake in the past few days. His eyes closed again but the memory of Loki stabbing him flashed through his mind and he jumped awake. He took a few deep breaths trying to calm down, looking up as the door opened.

He stared at the woman who appeared in the room, beautiful as always, amazed to see her. He’d been sure he’d been dreaming she was with him, “Drea?”

Tears filled her soft brown eyes as she moved to his side, her hand sliding into his as she rested her forehead against his. Phil slowly slid his hand up along her cheek and through her hair; he’d forgotten how good it felt to be with her.

“How do you feel?” she breathed, her eyes closed as she leaned into his hand.

Phil let out a sigh, “Alive.”

After a few moments she pulled back and the professional mask slid over her face, “We removed the implant from your chest yesterday. Fury will be sending a team to take you to a SHIELD medical facility in a few hours.”

“Drea…”

“We have no other choice,” she reminded him.

He stared at her sadly, “You know that I…”

“I know,” she cut him off; “I need to make sure you’re healthy enough to travel before they come for you.”

He opened his mouth to say something else but couldn’t find the words as she slipped into doctor mode and turned away from him.

 

Alexandrea finished going over the test results when she felt another presence in her office.

“Agent Romanov,” she greeted the other woman, “It’s good to see you again.”

The spy nodded, “Dr Grainger. Director Fury sent me.”

“I know,” Alexandrea nodded, “I’m just finishing updating the test results and anything else your doctors need to know.”

“So he’s…”

“Alive,” Alexandrea smiled slightly finishing the other woman’s sentence when she hesitated, “Yes. He’ll need physiotherapy for a while but he should regain his full strength in time.”

Romanov nodded, “Good to know.”

Alexandrea took a deep breath, “Follow me, Agent Romanov.”

Remaining completely professional she led the spy to the hospital room, “There you go. I’ll be in once I’ve finished this and you can take him back to SHIELD.”

“Alexandrea,” Romanov called, stopping her from leaving, “This isn’t anything against you personally.”

“But I’m too high profile to be married to a SHIELD agent,” Alexandrea finished for her, “Even if he quit, he’s made far too many enemies and knows far too much.” Silence echoed between the two women before Alexandrea spoke again, “I’m not a fool, Natasha. And despite what everyone believes, he didn’t make the decision. I did.”

“Alexandrea…”

“I fell in love with the wrong person,” Alexandrea continued, “I know that. And as much as I want to just forget him and move on I can’t,” she took a breath; “You should go in. I’ll be a minute.”

 

“Coulson,” Natasha smiled warmly seeing him sitting on the bed looking bored, “I didn’t believe Fury, not until right now.”

“Apparently I’m a medical miracle,” Phil answered with a wry smile before glancing at the door.

“She’s finishing paperwork,” Natasha told him, “You have to let her go.”

Phil sighed but didn’t say anything.

She shook her head slightly but decided not to say anything else about it. It wasn’t her place.

“Once we have everything there is a transport ready to take you to the SHIELD medical facility,” she told him.

They turned as the door opened and Alexandrea walked in a folder in her arms looking every bit the medical professional.

“Agent Romanov,” she said her voice steady, “Here is Agent Coulson’s medical file. If your doctors have any questions then tell them to call me.”

Taking the folder Natasha nodded, “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

She turned and left the alone, making sure to close the door behind her.

 

“If you do anything like this to me again,” Alexandrea said, moving to his side and helping him slide on his shirt, “I’m not going to be happy.”

“It’s not on my list of top ten things to do again,” Phil admitted, he caught her arm.

Alexandrea wrapped her arms around his neck, holding on for a few moments before moving back so they could kiss. They parted and Alexandrea stepped back.

“I want to know if you have any side effects from the implant,” she told him as he buttoned his shirt, “This was experimental technology I had to call Tony Stark to help with. So do not act like there is nothing wrong when there is. Okay?”

He couldn’t stop the smile that touched his lips, nor the slightly sarcastic, “Yes, dear.”

“Phil,” she snapped.

“Drea,” he slid off the bed and took her hand, “I’ll be fine. I will do what the doctors tell me, I promise.”

She moved and held him again, closing her eyes as she rested against him. 

“I love you,” he whispered in her ear.

“Love you too,” Alexandrea replied, allowing one more kiss before helping him to the wheelchair allowing in the team that were waiting to take him away.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Notes - Still not betad.  
> But the whole thing is complete and will be posted quickly.

The music blasting through his earphones helped him keep the rhythm as he ran on the treadmill. It had been just over a month since his injury, thanks to Alexandrea’s implant, he was alive and would hopefully soon be as strong as he had been before it.

He continued running, ignoring the pain building in his chest, as thinking about her was never a good thing. Falling in love with Alexandrea Grainger had been the dumbest thing he’d ever done, possibly with the exception of marrying her.

They’d met over three years ago; he’d been getting over an injury that time also, though not as bad as this one, so he’d been given supposedly light duty to protect Alexandrea Grainger, the granddaughter of Edward Grainger, one of the founders of SHIELD. Unlike her six elder step-siblings Alexandrea had followed in her grandfather’s steps and become a doctor. After her father’s death she’d taken over the company working on cutting edge medical advances.

However at the time he met her, Alexandrea was working as a doctor in a hospital in New York.

*********************************************

Alexandrea sighed as she saw the full ER waiting room; it had already been a long day and she was so relieved that her shift ended in five minutes.

“You volunteered to work today,” Mary, the head nurse, noted before handing her a new chart, “Here you go last one, looks like an easy case.”

Alexandrea smiled, mouthing thank you, before turning to the waiting room and calling, “Mr Coulson.”

She watched as a man stood, kind of handsome and smart looking with slightly thinning hair. He was wearing a dark grey suit, which her trained eye knew was expensive and looked like an accountant or lawyer.

“Mr Coulson, I’m Dr Grainger,” she smiled at him, “Follow me and we’ll see what we can do for you.”

He gave a slight nod and followed her to exam room three. Alexandrea scanned the chart in front of her, “I see you were recently shot. Is the wound bothering you?”

The man shook his head, “No.”

“Okay,” she consulted the chart again for a moment before looking up at him, “So, what can I do for you?”

“Dr Grainger, I need you to come with me now,” he stated seriously.

Alexandrea took a step back slightly glancing over to the door, trying to gauge if she could get there before he could, “Why?”

He reached into his jacket and she flinched before staring as he pulled out a badge.

“You’re SHIELD?” she demanded in annoyance, recognising it instantly, “What the hell are you doing here?”

Coulson pocketed his badge, “I’m afraid we’ve received information you are about to be targeted.”

“By whom?”

“That’s unknown,” he told her, “I’ve been sent to take you to a safe house. We need to leave now.”

Alexandrea glanced down at her scrubs, “Do I have time to change?”

He paused, thinking for a moment before he touched his radio, “Alden, status.” She waited as he listened to whoever was with him before he nodded, “Quickly.”

 

Phil followed the woman he’d been sent to protect to the doctor’s lounge and stood waiting for her to pull her things together.

“Some privacy please?” she snapped, as she pulled her clothes out of her locker.

Phil nodded and turned his back, allowing her a modicum of privacy to change. He grimaced when the squeal of tyres entered his hearing and moving to the small window he saw several men appear.

“Damn,” he snapped, turning back relieved she was dressed, “Dr Grainger, we have to go now.”

“What?” she asked confused.

Phil grabbed her bag and pushed it towards her, “Go.”

To his relief she followed his order, allowing him to move her out of the room and through the corridors of the hospital.

“Alden, meet us at the secondary location,” he called over his radio as he pulled her along; he grimaced when he received no reply.

“What’s wrong?” she demanded.

Phil glanced at her, impressed by how calm she seemed, “The agent who was with our ride isn’t answering me.”

“So you think he’s been compromised?” she asked.

Phil nodded, a little stunned she wasn’t panicking, “Yes, we need to get to the basement.”

 

Alexandrea forced herself to stay calm as Coulson dragged her through the corridors of the hospital basement; places she didn’t even know existed.

She’d been aware of SHIELD’s existence all her life; her grandfather had helped create them while her father’s company still worked closely with them. 

“Where are we going?” she demanded after a few minutes.

“This building has an old access tunnel we can use to get out of here,” he explained, “We’ll be there soon.”

Bemused she followed on, jumping as gunfire suddenly sounded from behind them. Alexandrea gasped as Coulson grabbed her round her waist and pulled her in front of him, covering her with his own body as bits of plaster flew around them.

“Run,” he snapped, pushing her forward.

Relieved she hadn’t worn the heels she’d originally intended to, Alexandrea pounded along the corridor feeling Coulson’s hand on her shoulder pushing her forward. She glanced back and saw three men chasing them, stunned as all dropped after three quick shots from Coulson. Finding a door Alexandrea grabbed the handle, grimacing as the door wouldn’t open.

“It’s locked,” she cried.

Coulson turned and shot the lock, “Go,” he ordered.

Alexandrea followed the order and, to her relief, found the tunnel waiting for them. Coulson followed on, firing shots behind him. Once inside far enough he pulled out what looked like a silver pen, he twisted the top round and pushed the button before tossing it towards the entrance.

Alexandrea watched in amazement as the entrance disappeared to become a grey wall. As the wall appeared darkness descended and she winced in the sudden burst of light when Coulson flicked on a flashlight.

“Dr Grainger,” he said coolly, “Let’s go.”

 

Phil manoeuvred his charge through the tunnel, relieved that he had been right and the exit came out far enough away from the hospital. He was very impressed so far by the woman he was there to protect, at no point in their escape had she screamed or panicked. 

He checked his watch and turned to her, “Bus is coming. We’d better catch it.”

She gave him a look of bemusement but followed on, watching stunned that he had the exact change before leading her to the back of the bus, stopping her sitting beside the window.

“Where are we going?” Alexandrea asked after a few minutes of silence as he worked out his next move.

“Do you have a nickname?” he asked, ignoring her question, “If I need you to do something, or get your attention, Alexandrea is a little bit of a mouthful.”

“What?”

“Alex is easier,” he continued as though she hadn’t spoken.

Alexandrea smiled slightly, “Call me that and I may throw something at your head.”

Phil tilted his head questioningly.

“My older brothers always call me Alex,” she explained, “I’ve never felt like an Alex and I don’t like it.”

He thought for a moment, “How about Drea?”

“Drea?” 

“Short, easier to say,” he explained, “And it comes from your name.”

The newly christened Drea nodded in agreement, “Okay. So what I do call you. Cool?”

The sarcasm in her voice made him smile, she obviously wanted answers that he wasn’t able to give her right now so instead he said, “Phil,” giving her something.

Drea offered her hand, “It’s nice to meet you, Phil. I trust you can keep me safe.”

He took her hand and nodded, “I can.”

*********************************************

Drea walked with her new bodyguard towards a rundown looking hotel in an area of the city she would never walk through on her own. Even now she was walking as close to Phil as she could get without being actually attached to his arm.

As they walked into the building Phil paused at a window and placed his hand on the wall, to her surprise the wall melted away and a door appeared. He tapped a few numbers on the number pad at the side and as soon as it opened he moved her inside.

“Finally,” a man said as they walked in, “Where the hell have you been, Coulson?”

Phil shrugged, “We had a slight transportation issue. Agent Barton, this is Dr Alexandrea Grainger.”

“Dr Grainger,” Barton nodded to her before turning back to Phil, “Fury is waiting for you to call.”

Phil nodded before glancing at Drea, “Barton, could you take Dr Grainger to freshen up?”

“Come on, Doc,” Barton motioned her towards another door.

Drea glanced at Phil, only moving when he gave her a soft nod it was safe.

 

Phil took a deep breath before hitting the button, “Director,” he greeted the man who appeared on the screen before him.

“Agent Coulson,” Fury replied, “I expected a call at least an hour ago.”

Phil gave a tight smile, “My transportation was a little limited. Sir, we have a security breach. Whoever is after Dr Grainger caught up with us and took out Alden.”

“I know. Alden is currently unconscious in the medical bay,” Fury replied, “The original plan has been scrapped. You have to take her and disappear for a while, the usual communication protocols will apply.”

“Sir…”

“I know this isn’t ideal,” Fury told him, “But until I can plug this leak I’m relying on you to protect Dr Grainger. I personally promised Adam Grainger she would be safe.”

Phil nodded, “Yes, sir.”

“Coulson,” Fury stopped him cutting communications, “I specifically chose you to protect her in case something like this happened. Be careful.”

Phil nodded again and sighed as the screen turned black, “No pressure, Boss.”

 

Drea washed her face trying to get her head around the past few hours. It had taken them a long time to get here; changing buses several times until Phil was sure they weren’t being followed. After a shift in the ER she needed to sleep normally but now, now she was so tired she was sure if she closed her eyes for a second she would fall asleep standing up.

“Barton,” Phil’s voice brought her back, “What have you got for me?”

Drea turned and watched as the other man pulled out two cases before passing a packet with what appeared to be papers over to Phil.

“What’s going on?” she asked worriedly.

Phil turned to her, “Unfortunately our original plan for protecting you has been compromised. We have to leave the city.”

Drea stared at him, “No.”

“No?” the two men asked in unison.

“I have responsibilities,” she told them, “I can’t just disappear.”

Barton shrugged, “Sure, head back to the hospital. Before you go I’ll give you a T-shirt with a target on it so we make it even easier for them to kill you.”

“Barton,” Phil snapped, when the other man turned Phil glared at him, “Out.”

Waiting until they were alone Phil drew her to a seat, sitting her down he crouched in front of her.

“I know that this is a lot for you to take in,” he said softly, “And I understand how scared you must be but this is the only thing we can do right now.”

“Why?”

He took a breath, “Because we have a leak. Someone knew our plan to get you out of the hospital including the back-up. Until we can stop the leak you will be in danger.”

Drea closed her eyes, exhausted and scared, “What do they want with me?”

“To use you against your father,” Phil’s voice remained soft and comforting, “Possibly also SHIELD considering your family’s link.”

She took several deep breaths, her eyes still closed hoping that she would open them and this would be a dream. She opened them again when Phil rested his hand on her cheek.

“I promise that I will keep you safe, Drea,” he told her, “But I need you to trust me. Okay?”

Drea stared into his eyes, amazed at the warmth and sincerity in there. Comforted by this she found herself nodding, “Okay.”

*********************************************

Drea had never been so relieved to see a bed in her entire life as she did when she lay down in the hotel room they’d walked into less than a minute before. She’d somehow managed to stay awake from the safe house to the airport, through the plane journey, the drive to the hotel, checking into the hotel and then the torturously long elevator ride to the floor.

“You might want to take your shoes off,” the amused voice of her bodyguard said from somewhere nearby.

Drea didn’t bother opening her eyes; she just prised her sneakers off kicking them to drop on the floor before curling a little deeper into the pillow. After a moment she felt a blanket cover her and she relaxed into a deep sleep knowing she was safe.

 

Phil watched Drea as she slept for a moment, waiting until he was sure she was fast asleep before he started setting up everything he needed for the next few days. He needed some time to work out what to do next. He hated being cut off from SHIELD, especially when he had to protect someone as important as Alexandrea Grainger because it meant little information and no back-up.

A noise from the bed made him turn to check her, an amused smile touching his lips as she muttered something about a dog talking to a tree before turning over and falling silent again.

After an hour of work Phil decided to get some supplies. Sure she was sleeping peacefully and that the security he’d set up was working, he slid out the room.

 

Drea could smell pizza as she woke up. Opening her eyes she saw her bodyguard sitting eating a slice while he tapped on a computer.

“That smells great,” she said yawning.

Phil looked round, “Feeling better?”

“Well I’m still stuck in a hotel in Vegas with a man whose protecting me from some threat I have no idea about,” she replied sarcastically, sliding off the bed, “Other than that I feel great.”

Phil chuckled, “Pizza?”

Drea dropped onto the seat beside him and took a slice, “Pepperoni. Good choice.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes as they ate before Drea turned to him, “So, what’s the plan?”

“At the moment we stay here,” he replied.

Drea stared at him, “And that’s it? That’s your entire plan?”

“It’s all I can do just now,” he told her, “Drea, I know how frustrated you are…”

“No you don’t,” she snapped, “You basically kidnapped me from my life, now I’m a prisoner in this room.”

Phil stared at her as she glared at him before asking blandly, “Are you done?”

She grimaced, “Yes.”

“Drea, I am sorry about this,” Phil said, “And to be honest I’m no happier about this than you are. But this is the situation we’re in.”

“You’re really annoying,” she told him, “Being honest and logical.”

He smiled at her, “I know.”

*********************************************

His breath was coming in sharp gasps; he stopped running and leaned heavily on the bar in front of him.

“I’m sure your doctors have told you that you shouldn’t be pushing yourself,” a familiar voice said from behind him.

“Drea?” he turned confused to see her, even more confused to see Fury standing just behind her.

“I’m here to check your wound,” she told him, wearing her professional mask. She caught his arm and helped him over to the chair, “Sit.”

Phil followed the order, following orders was something he could do and meant he kept his focus away from how good it was to see Drea.

“Okay,” his wife said, “Shirt off and let me see.”

Very aware his boss was in the room with them, Phil bit back the automatic comment that came to mind with her standing there ordering him to undress; instead he slowly eased off his t-shirt trying not to show how much it hurt.

While Drea pressed around the wound on his chest, he closed his eyes. They hadn’t been this close for some time and he was beginning to think there was no point in getting better. 

“Does that hurt?” she asked, looking up at him worry in her eyes.

At that moment, he knew no matter how he felt he couldn’t make her worry about him anymore so he lied, “No.”

“Director Fury,” Drea said frowning slightly, “Could you stand here in front of Agent Coulson, hold his shoulder’s while I check his back.”

Phil grimaced as Fury gripped his shoulders before he gave a cry of pain, arching away from the pressure when Drea pressed the entry wound.

“Do you want to answer my question again?” Drea asked sharply before turning to Fury, “Thank you, Director. I need to check with the other doctors then I’ll give you my report.”

As she marched out Phil sighed, wincing as he pulled his t-shirt back on. Fury stared at him for a moment, the silence saying everything.

 

“Well, Doctor,” he asked, “What do you think?”

Drea stepped into Fury’s office tossing a file onto his desk, “You don’t want to know what I’m thinking.”

“Dr Grainger…”

“He is pushing himself because you have him hidden away,” Drea cut him off, “He needs…he needs me.”

Fury grimaced, “Dr, I am not having this conversation again.”

“Neither am I,” she retorted; “Look, I know why our marriage was a bad idea. We both do.”

“Yet you went ahead and did it anyway,” he reminded her.

Drea took a deep breath; she wasn’t going to lose her temper and accidentally spill how they’d actually married.

“Director Fury, if you want one of your best agents back, then you have to do what is best for him,” Drea said her voice soft.

“Is that your medical opinion, Doctor Grainger?”

Steel filled her voice, “Yes.”

Fury stared at her, his hard stare that many agents cracked under but she simply stared right back at him.

“How long?” Fury finally asked.

“Considering the state he is in just now,” Drea said, “I’d suggest two months.”

“One.”

“Six weeks,” Drea stated, “That is the minimum amount of time he needs to recuperate.”

After several minutes of thought, Fury nodded, “Fine. For the next six weeks he is under your care. After that…”

“I know,” she cut him off walking out.

 

Phil lay back on the bed in his room hating everything about what had happened to him recently. When he was working he could keep his mind away from the personal, away from Drea but because he had nothing to do then all he could do was think about her. As if he didn’t have enough reasons to despise Loki.

The door opened and he stared a little bemused as Drea strolled in, she walked over to the DVD player and slid a disc in.

“Drea?” he asked, even more confused when she sat beside him on the bed making him slide over to give her room. 

“We should have enough time to watch a movie while they pull together your things and the paperwork for me to get you out of here,” she told him, “I’m taking over your recuperation.”

“What?” he started, even more bemused as the film started, “Casablanca? You hate this.”

She shrugged, settling against him, “One time only.”

Phil wrapped his arm around her thinking back to the first time they’d had the Casablanca conversation.

*********************************************

Drea chuckled at how horrified he appeared.

“You don’t like Casablanca?” Phil demanded.

“I find it boring and overrated,” Drea shrugged.

They were sitting side by side on the bed in the hotel room, scanning through the list of films they could watch before one or both of them went insane with boredom. So far they hadn’t agreed on any but this was the only one he’d taken offence to the fact she didn’t want to watch.

“Don’t tell me it’s because it’s in black and white.”

Drea frowned at him, “My favourite Christmas movie is ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’,” she told him, “I just don’t like it.”

“Have you ever watched it right through?” he asked her, “It’s a classic movie.”

Drea rolled her eyes, “It’s boring and I’d rather watch paint dry. Next.”

He hit the button and the next movie on the list appeared, “Die Hard?”

“I’m guessing your second favourite movie,” Drea teased.

Phil gave a snort of derision, “I could have ended that with less civilian casualties in about half an hour.”

“You are really scary,” Drea noted.

Phil shrugged. A soft ping came from the computer and he was off the bed in one quick movement, “We have company.”

Drea jumped up, “Do we have to go?”

He shook his head, a slight smile touching his lips, “This is a friendly.”

 

Phil seriously considered hugging the woman on the other side of the door for about a second. Dismissing it quickly, knowing she would knock him off the wall if he even tried, he greeted her with a nod, “Agent Romanov.”

“Coulson,” she replied, stepping inside looking around the hotel room she saw Drea, “Dr Grainger. I’m afraid I don’t have good news.”

“Please,” Drea sighed, “Tell me we’re not going to be stuck here longer? His movie choices are terrible.”

Romanov’s lips quirked slightly before she continued, “Fury thinks your location has been compromised,” she explained, “You need to leave. Now. I’ve to stay here.”

Phil nodded, “Drea, grab your bag. Leave the cases, we don’t have time. Natasha, did Fury tell you where we’ve to go?”

Romanov shook her head, “Said you would know. Same protocols apply.”

Phil grimaced; complete isolation from SHIELD was never a good thing but it also showed how worrying this situation was.

“Drea, let’s go,” Phil ordered, “Natasha, be careful.”

Romanov nodded, “You too.”

 

The strip was busy when they joined it. Drea was very aware of Phil’s hand on her arm as he moved her through the crowded street. 

“Damn,” he suddenly muttered.

Drea glanced at him, “What’s wrong?”

“We’ve picked up a tail,” he told her, “We need to find a crowd to blend into.”

“I don’t think finding the crowd will be a problem,” Drea noted, grimacing as people pushed between them.

The crowd thickened around them and suddenly Drea was alone, her bodyguard nowhere to be found. Drea tried to stop, to see if she could see Phil but couldn’t as the crowd swept her along.

Suddenly a hand grabbed her arm and relief filled her until a gun was jammed into her side.

“Don’t make a sound,” the man holding her growled, “Just move and I won’t hurt you.”

Drea scanned the crowd for her bodyguard as she started walking when he pushed her forward. Her abductor forced her to a car park and shoved her towards a car.

“Get in,” he snarled from behind her.

Drea prayed desperately that her bodyguard would find her as she gripped the handle and started to open the door.

“Excuse me,” a familiar voice made her turn, relief filling her to see Phil standing there, “I believe the lady is with me.”

The relief quickly faded as the other guy jammed the gun into Phil’s chest, “Really?”

Drea stared in astonishment as Phil grabbed the other man’s wrist, twisting making the gun drop before he slammed his fist down and Drea’s almost abductor fell unconscious onto the concrete.

“Drea, let’s go,” he ordered as he picked up the gun.

 

Phil had panicked a bit when Drea was separated from him. He knew that they wanted her alive but that didn’t preclude damage they would do to her to make her go with them. 

The moment he found her again Phil wrapped his arm around her waist, keeping her right beside him not caring that he was probably crossing a line. Fury had promised Adam Grainger that Phil could protect his daughter and Phil was not going to let Fury down.

“What now?” Drea asked, shaking slightly from the near miss.

“We have to get off the streets,” he noted, he could see others who were definitely not friendly, “Question is where?”

Keeping her moving Phil finally spotted something that looked as though it should be safe. He slipped his hand in his pocket quickly finding what he needed. He flicked the device onto the edge of the building as he dragged Drea inside.

They stopped walking as the bright room appeared before them and an old woman wearing a red evening dress beamed at them.

“Another happy couple.”

 

Drea stared at the woman who was rattling off prices of the wedding packages they offered wondering how they were getting out of here without a problem.

“I’ll let you lovebirds talk it over,” she smiled at them before wandering away.

“Well?” Drea asked him a little desperately.

Phil slipped on his sunglasses for a moment checking the video feed of the street outside, “They’re still floating around. We have to stay here.”

“You know if we stay here we have to get married,” she said in a harsh whisper.

“Are you already married?” he asked blandly.

Drea glared at him, “Not the point I was making.”

“We go through with this and get it annulled,” he told her, “I just hope we have enough cash for this.”

“Why not charge it?” Drea asked, trying to get her head round what was happening.

Phil frowned at her, “There is no way I am trying to explain this when I hand in my expenses.”

“Oh I don’t believe I’m going to do this,” Drea groaned.

Phil sighed, “Me either.”


	3. Chapter 3

“Welcome home,” Drea smiled as she helped Phil into the apartment.

He grimaced slightly as he looked around but didn’t say anything. 

“What?” she demanded at his look before sighing, “You can say it, you know.”

“This place is a mess.”

“I work,” she rolled her eyes as they reached the bedroom, “Remember?”

“Hire a maid,” he threw back at her, “You have the money.”

Drea shook her head, “And I don’t like someone I don’t know poking around in my things.”

He smirked before grimacing as he lowered himself onto the bed.

“Careful,” Drea scolded, moving to help him.

Phil sighed, he was exhausted and even teasing her was taking what little energy he had. He rubbed his eyes, staring at the bedside table. Despite the fact he hadn’t lived here for almost a year it still held his alarm clock, the book he’d been reading and the stupid dog nightlight Drea had given him as a present when he mentioned once she should get a dog.

He looked at her confused and she kissed him, “It’s still your side. Now lie down and get some sleep. You can let your OCD out and clean the apartment once you’re feeling better.”

He chuckled. It was one of the things about Drea that had always driven him crazy, pretty much from day one. He’d always been tidy; it wasn’t something that was drilled into him in the military he had always kept wherever he lived organised. Drea on the other hand didn’t mind having a lived in look to her home. 

With a smile he closed his eyes and let himself fall asleep.

 

Drea watched her husband as he slept, she could see the lines of exhaustion along his face and she cursed herself for not checking on him earlier. She knew he would push himself too much but she’d let herself believe that keeping her distance was the best, assuming his masters in SHIELD would know him well enough to protect him from himself.

She made sure he was comfortable before she left him to rest. Drea curled up in the armchair to do some work trying very hard to concentrate.

Her hand strayed to the ring she kept on the chain around her neck, thinking of the day he’d slipped this on her finger, neither of them realising that it would become real.

*********************************************

“You can kiss your bride,” the man officiating pronounced.

Drea gave a nervous chuckle when Phil touched his lips to hers in a soft kiss. He pulled back and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, moving her out of the way of the next couple.

“So what now Agent Coulson,” Drea asked sarcastically as they stood in the corner of the room out the way, “Where’s the honeymoon suite?”

He rolled his eyes and pulled out his sunglasses checking the street once more. 

“It seems to be safe,” he said.

Drea waited, “So where are we going?”

“There is a safe house nearby,” Phil told her, “We can go there for a few hours before we leave the city.”

“Are you sure it’s safe?” Drea asked.

Phil shrugged, “Let me put it this way, if anyone finds this place there’s nowhere safe for us.”

Drea stared at him, “That’s not comforting.”

“But it’s all I’ve got.”

 

A chill slid through Drea as the heavy door opened to the bunker. She couldn’t stop playing with the ring, mostly because they hadn’t stopped moving long enough for her to actually take it off.

Phil moved her inside before pressing a few more buttons and the doors slowly clanged shut. She shivered again as a few lights flickered on giving them enough to see by, the room was mostly bare with a cot in the corner and a desk with a computer on it that looked like it was from the dark ages.

“I think the maid quit,” Drea noted.

Phil gave a quick chuckle, “This used to be a shelter. It’s been out of use for decades and most don’t know it even exists. Luckily Fury told me about it a few years ago.”

“Very lucky,” Drea agreed, “So what now?

“Now I need to hack into SHIELD’s mainframe and get some information from Fury,” Phil told her moving to the computer and taking the seat while Drea perched on the cot.

“Using this?” Drea frowned, “You do realise this thing is older than the two of us combined, right?”

Phil chuckled, “True but it is Stark technology so should have stood the test of time.”

“As in Tony Stark?” Drea asked.

“Howard actually,” he replied, “He and your grandfather were part of the original member’s of SHIELD,” he looked at her a little confused; “I thought you knew that.”

Drea shrugged, “I didn’t get the full history, just a month’s training when I was seventeen to make sure if something like this happened I didn’t panic.”

“Is it working?”

Drea shrugged, “Let’s say almost.”

Phil smiled slightly, “You should get some rest. This could take some time.”

“Interesting honeymoon,” she chuckled, lying on the cot.

Phil frowned at her, “Please stop that. If someone overhears…”

“Calm down,” Drea patted his arm, “You’ll give yourself an ulcer.”

 

Phil didn’t like hacking into the system because every time he had to it meant was something majorly wrong with whatever circumstance he was in. It was a skill he had that very few people knew about, which was a good thing in this situation. Rubbing his face with his hands he realised he was still wearing the wedding ring that matched Drea’s.

“Good way for people to find out about this,” he scolded himself; he pulled off the ring and hid it in Drea’s bag.

He had done some odd things during missions before, some downright crazy and extremely dangerous things but he’d never married the person he was protecting before. It was not something he wanted on his permanent file. 

Drea murmured in her sleep and he checked she was alright before turning back to the computer. He needed to find out what was happening back at base and if there was a way to get Drea out of Vegas safely.

Phil shook himself, he was tired. He hadn’t slept much in the past few days, catching power naps when he could as he had to always be on guard.

“Come on,” he muttered, “Come on.”

Finally he got into the files he wanted and sighed in relief. Quickly he entered the command codes and waited.

“Coulson,” Fury nodded, “Report.”

“We’re using the old bunker,” Phil told him, “Romanov conveyed your message and got us out of the hotel. Unfortunately they found us on the strip and Dr Grainger was taken briefly.”

Fury frowned, “Is she alright?”

“She’s fine,” Phil said, “Asleep just now.”

Fury nodded, “I’m sending Barton to get you. We have only one way to flush out our leak now.”

Phil grimaced as he realised what that was, “You’re going to use Drea as bait?”

“Drea?”

“Dr Grainger,” he corrected himself, “Isn’t that breaking your promise to her father?”

“We do what we have to,” Fury reminded him, “Which is why you will stick to her like glue and make sure no harm comes to her.”

“Yes, sir.”

Fury nodded, “Barton will be there in a few hours.”

*********************************************

“Captain Rogers,” Drea greeted the man standing at her door looking surprised she knew who he was, “I’ve seen your picture and my grandfather used to talk about you. Come on in. Phil is just finishing his physiotherapy.”

She stepped back allowing him into the apartment before calling, “Phil, you have a visitor.”

Drea turned back to her guest, “Can I get you something to drink, Captain?”

“Steve is fine, Dr Grainger,” he gave her a charming smile, “And no. I’m fine, ma’am.”

“It’s Alexandrea,” she told him, “Have a seat. I’ll go chase him.”

Drea watched as the man from the past sat a little uncomfortably before she moved into the bedroom. She found Phil sitting on the bed looking pale, his breathing slightly laboured.

“Hey,” she moved to him, “You okay?”

Phil nodded, “Just a little tired.”

“And?”

At her pushing Phil frowned, “They all thought I was dead and Fury used my death to bring them together. I feel like a bit of a fraud.”

“They didn’t count on me,” Drea reminded him with a smile, “You do realise that Tony already knows, not to mention Natasha. And considering the man, who was your childhood hero, is sitting out there wanting to know you’re okay I don’t think they’re mad.”

Phil stared at her, too tired to think of a comeback.

Drea kissed him, “Move. I want to meet Captain America.”

 

Steve stood as the supposedly dead agent walked into the room, “Agent Coulson, it’s good to see you again.”

“You too, Captain,” Phil took his hand, “I see you’ve met my wife.”

Surprise filled Steve’s eyes, “Your wife?

“Typical Fury still refuses to acknowledge it,” Drea chuckled before she tapped Phil’s arm, “Sit and conserve your strength. I’ll make some lunch.”

Phil smiled as she kissed him quickly before leaving the two men to talk.

“I didn’t realise you were married,” Steve noted once Drea had left the room.

Phil gave a wry smile, “Not many people know. Our marriage is frowned upon by the higher levels of SHIELD.”

“Why?”  
“Because of who I am,” Drea said as she arrived with a mug of tea for Phil, “I’m the Tony Stark of cutting edge medical tech. You knew my grandfather after all. I’m too high profile to be married to someone who works for SHIELD.”

Silence filled the room for a moment before Steve spoke again, “So how did you meet?”

*********************************************

“Where are we going?” Drea asked as the jet lifted off the ground.

Phil grimaced annoyed before he turned to her and gave her a comforting smile, “We’re heading back to SHIELD headquarters.”

“So, it’s over?” she asked relieved.

“Not yet,” Phil told her, “But Fury has told me it’s safe to return to base. We’ll keep you there until it’s over. It’ll be better than being stuck in a hotel room alone with me.”

Drea chuckled, “You’re not so bad, Agent Coulson. You do need to see some better movies though.”

Phil smiled again, “I need to talk to Barton. I’ll be back.”

He moved away from her and sat in the co-pilot’s seat.

“Problems?”

Phil looked over at the man flying the jet, “I don’t agree with this.”

Barton shrugged, “Fury knows what he’s doing.”

“How long till we get there?” Phil changed the subject.

“About half an hour,” Barton told him.

Phil nodded, “Good. I want this over with.”

 

Drea watched her bodyguard as he sat talking to their pilot; she’d known something was wrong from the moment she’d woken in the bunker. Phil had shifted into ‘Agent Coulson’ again meaning he was avoiding the back and forth banter they’d manage to build up over the past few days. She knew he trusted Barton, so that wasn’t the problem but it was obvious there was one.

Phil appeared again and took the seat beside her.

“Won’t be long,” he assured her.

“Are you going to tell me what’s bothering you?” Drea asked, smiling at his look of surprise that she was able to read him.

“Nothing,” Phil replied after a moment.

Drea smiled, “You’re lying.”

“I’m just trying to go over my report,” he said.

“You’re still lying,” she noted before shrugging, “Whatever. It’s not like…” she paused before mouthing, “I’m your wife.”

Phil frowned at her, “Drea, I’m still protecting you. I need you to trust me for just a little longer.”

“Of course I trust you,” Drea replied sincerely, “You’ve gone above and beyond to keep me safe as well as sane. I trust you but you need to trust me.”

Phil stared at her for a moment before nodding, “The leak hasn’t been plugged. We’re trying to draw them out.”

Drea stared at him for a few moments before she realised what he was saying, “I’m the bait?”

“This was not my choice,” Phil told her.

Drea swallowed taking a few deep breaths before she nodded. She reached out and gripped his hand until they reached their destination.

 

Phil guided Drea off the jet to where Nick Fury was standing waiting for them.

“Dr Alexandrea Grainger,” he introduced, “This is Director Nick Fury.”

“Dr,” Nick greeted her, “I wish we were meeting under better circumstances.”

“So do I,” Drea replied, her entire demeanour changing from what Phil was used to, “Agent Coulson wasn’t able to tell me what arrangements you have for my brothers and sister. You can.”

Phil made sure he didn’t smile at the surprise that covered Fury’s face at the demand, made by someone used to being answered when she asked a question. He’d already met ‘Alexandrea Grainger, granddaughter of one of SHIELD’s founders’ during the days protecting her as opposed to Drea, it was pretty amusing to see Fury meet her himself.

“We have people watching your siblings,” Fury assured her, “But our information shows that you are the only target.”

Drea frowned, “Why? That makes no sense. We’re all from the same family; my father would be blackmailed by any of us being taken.”

“Then maybe that’s not why you’ve been targeted,” Phil noted thoughtfully, not realising he spoke aloud.

Fury speared him with a glare, “Agent Coulson, please escort Dr Grainger to her room then report to my office.”

As he walked away Drea looked at him, “I think he’s mad at you.”

“Just go,” he muttered under his breath, catching her elbow and propelling her forward.

Drea stayed silent as they walked through the corridors of the SHIELD base until they reached the room she’d been assigned.

“Did I get you into trouble?” she asked.

“It’s fine,” he replied.

She tilted her head and stared at him, the look he’d learned over the past few days meant her mind was puzzling over something.

“I’ll be back soon,” Phil told her, “You don’t have to worry. Agent Barton will be staying with you until I return.” As he started out he heard Drea call him back, “Yes?”

“This is odd,” Drea told him, “Why me? There has to be more to this.”

Phil shrugged, “Let’s stop whoever is after you then work out why. Okay?”

Drea nodded and sat down on the bed to wait.

 

“Coulson,” Fury greeted him as he entered the office.

“Sir,” Phil took the seat waiting for him, “I hope I wasn’t out of line.”

Fury shook his head, “Dr Grainger actually made a good point. It’s something I hadn’t even thought about in the chaos of the leak.”

Phil grimaced.

“I’ve made sure her presence here has been noted as top secret information only,” Fury told him, “If my suspicions are correct then whoever is after her will try to abduct her.”

Phil nodded, “I’ll stay with her.”

“What’s your impression?” Fury asked, “One day we’ll be working closely with her.”

“She’s smart,” Phil said after a moment, “From the time I’ve spent with her I’ve seen that she adapts quickly and has a mind of her own. She is well aware of the power she will one day control with the company but thankfully she isn’t arrogant. She’s surprisingly down to earth. The smart sarcastic remarks are her way of keeping in control of her fear and she is afraid. Sir, you need to be aware that the only reason she’s doing what you want right now is because she trusts me.”

Fury nodded, “Then make sure she continues to trust you. And keep her safe.”

*********************************************

“Okay,” Drea said coming in to the kitchen, “We’re going out for lunch.”

Phil looked at her confused, “Why?”

She chuckled, giving him a quick kiss, “We need to get out of this apartment before I go stir crazy.”

With a smile she left him and headed to get their jackets. They walked through the streets talking generally happy to be a couple for a while, no matter how short it would be.

They found a small café near the park and ordered lunch sitting across from one another in a small booth.

“Three weeks left,” Phil noted as he sipped his tea after lunch.

Drea frowned at him, “Personally I’m looking at it as three more weeks. You’ve always had a glass half empty mentality.”

“Drea, we can’t keep doing this,” he told her, “Living in moments.”

She grimaced, “You know as well as I do that us being together isn’t possible right now.”

“Drea…”

“Do you think I like this?” Drea demanded, “Stealing moments with you? I miss you so much but let’s face it, until we get some kind of a miracle it’ll never happen.”

He sighed, wincing as he felt pain building in his chest.

“Are you okay?” Drea asked worriedly.

A grimace covered his face as he suddenly doubled over clutching at his chest.

“Someone call a doctor,” a cry came from nearby.

“I am a doctor,” Drea motioned to the nearest waiter, “Help me get him on the floor.”

Between them Drea and the waiter moved Phil to lie on the floor, Drea rested a jacket beneath his head before she pulled out her phone.

“This is Dr Alexandrea Grainger,” Drea snapped the moment the call was answered, “I have a medical emergency at this location. Send an emergency transport and let Director Fury know.”

She hung up and leaned over him, “Phil, you need to tell me what’s wrong.”

“Chest,” he forced out, “Feels like he’s stabbing me again.”

“Just hold on,” she told him, “The medical unit will be here in a minute and I’ll fix this.”

 

Drea was about to call again when Fury strode into the café, “Help me get him on the stretcher,” she ordered before he could say a word.

The journey to the nearest SHIELD medical facility took less than ten minutes, Drea was doing the best she could to stay calm as she watched Phil in agony. The moment they touched down Drea rattled off everything she needed to be done as they ran through the corridors. She turned bemused as Fury caught her arm.

“What?”

“You can’t go in there,” he reminded her, “You’re his wife.”

“Now you’re recognising our marriage?” Drea snapped before she shrugged him off, “Screw the rules. I am finding out what the hell has gone wrong. He is not dying.”

Turning away she marched away from him. She caught up with the medical team as they performed scans to find out what was happening. Drea frowned as the pictures appeared on the screen in front of them.

“What is that?” Fury’s voice made her turn.

“My guess,” Drea said darkly, “Is it’s part of the spear that Loki stabbed him with.”

 

“Drea?” She turned as Phil called her name, confusion filling his voice, “What’s happened?”

She rested her hand on his forehead, “Somehow part of the spear that Loki used to stab you has re-grown in your chest. We have to remove it.”

“How the hell did that happen?”

“I have no idea,” she whispered, sliding her hand into his.

He squeezed her hand, “Stay strong, Drea. I’ll be fine.”

“You’re damn right you will. I’m going to be here for the full thing,” she promised, “I will supervise and I will fix this. I promise.”

He stared at her, trying to reassure her but the pain had become too intense.

“Hey,” she whispered, “I need you to trust me, the way I trusted you when we first met. Okay?”

Phil nodded and Drea pressed her lips to his. “I’ll see you when you wake up.”

She moved away allowing the anaesthesiologist to put Phil under and headed to scrub in to the surgery.

“I’ve got you,” she heard him whisper as he slid into unconsciousness.

********************************************* 

Drea lay on the small bed in the room she’d been taken to. Phil had told her to get some rest; he would be nearby and, despite the desire to tease him about watching her sleep, she’d held her tongue.

She wasn’t too sure about trusting Fury; he seemed to be hiding something from them but Phil trusted him and she trusted Phil. He’d told her the truth from the beginning, including the fact she was now being used as bait.

The door opened and Drea frowned as no lights came on, “Phil?”

No answer came but the outline she could make out was definitely not her bodyguard. Before she could do anything a hand clamped over her mouth and she was dragged out of the room.

The hand across her mouth made it impossible to make any real cry for help, Drea felt panic fill her and she kicked out but whoever was holding her was too strong.

“Stop it,” the man holding her snarled in her ear.

Drea stopped trying to call for help as he tightened his hold making her wince in pain. She was relieved that she didn’t recognise the voice; she didn’t want someone Phil trusted to have betrayed everything he believed in.

The darkened halls gave way to stairs that led up to a walkway and she didn’t want to think where it went.

“Let her go,” Phil’s voice echoed before the world filled with light.

 

“Alden,” Phil was barely holding his anger in check as one of the agents he’d trained was betraying them, “Let her go now.”

“Stay back,” Alden snarled, he pressed the gun he was carrying against Drea’s heart.

“Coulson,” Barton’s voice came in his ear, “I can’t get a clear shot. He knows that.”

Phil grimaced as he and Romanov moved forward slightly trying to manoeuvre Alden into a position they could get Drea away from him safely.

“You want her to live?” Alden snapped, “Then put the guns down and get out of the way.”

“Isn’t going to happen,” Romanov stated coldly.

Alden moved suddenly and pushed Drea towards the barrier so she could see how high she was, making her let out a gasp of fear.

“I’m taking the shot,” Barton called.

“No,” Phil snapped, just as an arrow flew through the air hitting Alden in the shoulder. Alden cried out as the arrow pierced his shoulder and he pushed his hostage. Drea screamed as she was pushed over the banister barely managing to hold onto the pole.

“Drea!!” Phil dived forward and grabbed her wrist, “I’ve got you,” he told her.

Drea gave a cry as she began to slip from his grasp, “Phil.”

“You have to catch my other hand,” he told her before glancing back at Romanov, “Hold on to me.”

As Natasha grabbed his belt he eased forward slightly, he swung his arm jerking her up just enough so she could catch his other hand. Once he had her hand Phil pulled her so she could wrap an arm around his neck. Slowly they pulled Drea up and onto the landing.

Taking deep breaths Drea finally managed to say, “Nice catch.”

They turned to one another and laughed in relief.

 

“According to former agent Alden,” Fury told her as Drea sat across from him once the medical team had made sure she was alright, “He was hired to abduct you for a company called Medtech.”

“I’ve heard of them,” Drea shrugged, “Not exactly ahead of the game on current advances. We’ve hired a few of their better people away from them.”

“A fact they’re not happy about,” Fury noted, “They were after something called a skin patch system?”

Drea started to laugh, “You’re kidding?”

“I’m not known for that,” Fury replied, “Why?”

“It’s a project my father asked me to work on,” she explained, “It’s his way of getting me involved in the company so I can take over one day. It’s,” she paused and shrugged, “A fantasy at the moment. We’re trying to create needleless blood tests but we’re nowhere near a viable prototype.”

“They think differently.”

“So what now?” she asked, “Am I still in danger?”

“We’ve sent a team to ensure that you can return to your life,” Fury replied, “In a few hours this will all be a memory.”

Drea nodded, “Excellent, Director. Thank you for everything.”

“Agent Barton will escort you home,” Fury told her as Barton stepped into the office.

Drea frowned a little confused, “What about Agent Coulson?”

“Agent Coulson is leading the team I sent to Medtech,” Fury told her.

Drea sighed, “That’s a pity. I wanted to thank him for everything, especially saving my life. If it’s possible could you have him contact me once he is able so I can?”

Fury nodded, “Of course.”


	4. Chapter 4

The shard of metal sat on the bench in front of them. 

“This makes no sense,” Drea sighed, “That wasn’t in his scans until today. I’ve checked and rechecked every single one.”

“So where did it come from?” Tony asked. He’d been called a few hours ago for his input.

Drea shook her head, “I have no idea.”

“Could your implant have created this?” Fury asked Drea.

She shook her head, “No, it was designed to help heart muscle reform after an injury.”

“Nothing I did could have done this,” Tony said before anyone asked, “And Alexandrea is right, her implant couldn’t form metal from nothing.”

“What if there was metal in there already?”

They all turned to the final occupant of the room, Pepper Potts, when she spoke up. 

“What do you mean, Miss Potts?” Fury asked. He hadn’t been happy that she was there but had decided not to start the argument with Stark at that moment.

“When Phil was stabbed by the spear,” Pepper said, “Is it possible slivers of the metal, small enough that they couldn’t be detected were left in the wound?”

Drea stared at her before turning to Fury, “So why would it grow now?”

“You wouldn’t be playing with the spear,” Tony asked, “Would you, Nick?”

Fury shook his head, “The spear has been locked away to ensure no one could use it again. After what happened with the Tesseract I wasn’t taking any chances.”

“Then it isn’t as safe as you thought,” Drea snapped, “Because this happened today. He was fine.”

Pepper stepped forward and rested her hands on her friend’s arm, “Alexandrea, why don’t we go check on Phil?”

Rubbing her hand across her eyes, Drea nodded allowing Pepper to move her.

 

Drea picked up the chart the moment she entered the room, scanning it before she moved to Phil’s side.

“I’m surprised neither of you told me,” Pepper said from the other side of the bed.

Drea looked up at her and gave a defeated laugh, “We knew from day one we couldn’t tell anyone. Who I am and what he does made it impossible to.”

“Alexandrea…”

“Pepper, I made my choice a long time ago,” Drea told her friend, “I could sign the papers and move on but I don’t want to. Because when I’m with him it’s right.”

Pepper watched her friend as she rested her hand on her husband’s forehead wishing she could do or say something to help her friend.

“I love him, Pepper,” Drea told her, “What’s really funny is that when we met I would never have thought of him in that way. He was the agent sent to protect me,” she shrugged, “And he did. Then we saw each other about a month later and everything changed.”

*********************************************

“Agent Coulson,” Drea grinned as she opened the door to Phil, “It’s good to see you.”

Phil nodded, “You too, Dr Grainger.”

She motioned him in and he looked around her apartment, smiling at the family pictures she had dotted around the room. Drea closed the door behind him and he studied her, she was wearing a dark green fifties style dress. Her long brown hair was clipped up and she looked as though she was ready for an evening on the town.

“Am I keeping you back from something?” he asked.

“No,” she grinned, “I got married looking like something the cat dragged in so I thought for the annulment I’d look nice.”

He hesitated trying to think of what to say next, frowning as she laughed at him.

“I’m kidding, Phil,” she chuckled at the look on his face, “I was out for dinner with my father and some of his associates; I just haven’t managed to change yet.”

Phil shook his head before remembering what he had with him, “I brought you something.”

“Really?” interest filled her voice.

With an amused smile, he handed her the small rectangular package wrapped in plain blue paper.

“Why do I get the feeling I know what this is,” Drea gave him a suspicious glare as she unwrapped her present, chuckling when she saw what he’d brought her, “Casablanca.”

He shrugged, “Thought you might want to try watching it again.”

“Maybe,” Drea smiled at him before she dropped it on the table, “Okay, I had my lawyers draw up the annulment papers but I was hoping you would do something for me before we signed them.”

“Which is?”

“Before my mother died,” Drea explained, “I promised her that when I got married I would dance to her favourite song with my husband. I know this isn’t what she meant but I’d feel guilty if I broke that promise.”

Phil offered her his hand and, once she started the song, drew her into his arms. Drea smiled as he started to move them around the floor.

“I can’t believe you know how to dance,” Drea laughed as he spun her round.

Phil shrugged, “You never know where this job will take you.”

He dipped her making her laugh as he left her leaning back, Drea wrapped her arms around his neck and as he pulled her back up there was a sudden change in the atmosphere between them. Drea became very aware of his hand resting on her lower back and they stopped moving, staring at one another. Neither was sure who moved first but before the song finished they were lost in a deep kiss.

 

An alarm he didn’t recognise made Phil frown as he was pulled out of his sleep, opening his eyes he was stunned when an arm appeared over him and hit the alarm off.

“I’ve got to get ready for work,” Drea murmured from beside him.

He turned and she kissed him quickly before she slid out of bed, disappearing into the bathroom.

Phil rolled onto his stomach and buried his face in the pillow wondering what he’d done. It had seemed like such a good idea at the time but now, in the morning, he realised it had been really stupid.

“I left a set of keys on the table with the annulment papers,” Drea said, making him look up to find her pulling on her jacket.

“Drea, this shouldn’t have happened.”

She sat on the bed beside him, “I know but it did. The forms are there for you to sign. Just leave the keys with the doorman and if we run into each other again then we’re polite. Or…”

“Or?”

“Or we see where this goes,” Drea said softly, “Which I’d like. But it’s your choice.”

She leaned over and kissed him again before leaving him to think.

 

Drea handed the nurse the chart as she went through orders for her vomiting twins.

“I’m glad I wasn’t at that birthday party,” the nurse chuckled before heading away.

Drea shook her head in relief that they were her final patients and she could head home to drink a bottle of wine…possibly two. She wasn’t working tomorrow and they might help her forget what had happened the night before. Along with the fact she would be coming home to annulment papers when she just realised she wanted to be with the man named in them which had completely surprised her.

She quickly changed out of her scrubs and grabbed her bag, stopping off for pizza before heading home to her apartment. Opening the door she stopped, the lights were on and there were strange noises coming from her kitchen.

Panic filled her that she wasn’t as safe as SHIELD had claimed and she slowly began to back out the apartment. Stopping suddenly as she realised whoever was in her apartment had tidied it.

“I thought you might be hungry after your shift,” an unexpected voice came before Phil appeared from the kitchen. He was wearing the apron her friend had given her that said ‘Doctor’s do it in Shifts’ and he was holding the annulment papers, “And I wanted to give you these in person.”

Drea closed the door, dropping her pizza onto the counter she took the papers from him. Moving to the dining room table she found a pen to sign her name, stopping suddenly as she realised he hadn’t signed them.

She spun to find him standing behind her, “What does this mean?”

“It means,” Phil said, sliding his arms around her waist pulling her close, “I’d like to see where this goes too.”

Drea grinned before tilting her head thoughtfully, “As long as Fury never finds out?”

“Exactly.”

*********************************************

It had taken a little time but Phil had moved in with her and after six months they were happy. It helped that his old apartment had been flooded by a forgetful upstairs neighbour and the fact that Barton needed patching up one night that they didn’t want on SHIELD’s files. As she was cleaning out the gash on his arm she mentioned casually about the empty apartment in the building and how she hoped it wouldn’t be taken over by another rich student who liked to party.

Barton had then helpfully mentioned this in front of Fury, who thought that it would be a great idea to have a top level SHIELD agent in the same building as one of the people he wanted to keep an eye on. Phil had made the appropriate noises of protest at the suggestion, but not too much that Fury changed his mind, and within a week he was moving his belongings into an apartment two floors below hers.

 

“You are such a geek,” Drea chuckled as she studied his Captain America comic collection that he had just set up to his liking.

Phil grimaced at her, “Everyone needs a hobby. Collecting Captain America memorabilia was something I did with my father.”

She smiled at him, “That’s kind of sweet.”

“No, it was the one thing we could talk about,” he replied, sadness in his voice before he turned back to the cards, “I still need about ten of these before I have the full set.”

“This is a side of you I never expected to see,” she laughed.

Phil caught her arm and tugged her over, “There are a lot of things you don’t know about me, Drea.”

She settled into his arms, “We have only been married six months,” she paused, thinking, “Technically seven. What date are we using?”

He kissed her, “I think the date we decided to be married would be the best, it’s the one I use.”

“You are so organised it’s disgusting,” she rolled her eyes, grimacing as her watch beeped, “And I have to get ready for work.”

She kissed him again before leaving the apartment that would remain as tidy as it was now, which anyone who knew Phil wouldn’t be surprised about, and heading upstairs to the one they were sharing.

*********************************************

Phil checked the time; Drea would be home in about an hour so he’d decided to make them dinner. He had a few days off and had come to spend time with his wife, unfortunately since it was an unplanned leave she hadn’t been able to get out of her shift at the hospital.

They’d been married for just over a year now and, although they weren’t able to be together as often as they would like due to his job, they were managing to make it work. 

“Dr Grainger,” a familiar voice called from nowhere making Phil freeze in horror.

Nick Fury was walking through the door and he stopped surprised to find Phil in the apartment.

“Coulson,” Fury frowned, “What are you doing here?”

He set his face in an annoyed grimace, “I’m making dinner,” before Fury could ask he continued improvising, “I lost a bet.”

“Should I ask?”

Phil shook his head, “No, sir. Why are you here?”

Fury frowned, “Adam Grainger had a heart attack.”

“What?”

“I couldn’t contact Dr Grainger either here or at the hospital,” Fury told him, “Since I know she sometimes turns her phone off after a shift I came here.”

“Dre…Dr Grainger is doing a ride along with the EMTs today,” Phil explained as he tried to work out what he should do.

“When is she due back?” 

“In about an hour.”

Fury nodded.

“Sir, you should return to base,” Phil told him, “I’ll take her to the medical centre.”

“You are on leave,” Fury reminded him.

“This takes precedence,” Phil replied.

Fury nodded, “Keep in touch.”

 

“Honey, whatever you’re cooking smells fantastic,” Drea called as she entered the apartment. 

Phil sighed, relieved Fury had taken his suggestion and left.

“Drea,” he moved to her, stepping back after she kissed him hello.

“What’s wrong?” she demanded, knowing the look in his eyes.

Phil wrapped his arms around her, “Drea, your father had a heart attack.”

Her face turned ashen, “Oh my God.”

“As soon as you’re ready we can go,” Phil told her.

Drea took several deep breaths trying to keep from losing control; Phil wrapped his arms around her, “You can let go, I’ve got you.”

She held onto him for a few minutes before she pulled on the professional mask she used at work and anytime they had to be together around SHIELD.

“Okay,” she wiped her eyes, “Let’s go.”

“Drea…”

She shook her head, “I need to see my family. I can’t lose it right now.”

Phil nodded, knowing that this was one of the things they had to deal with. 

*********************************************

“Dr Grainger?”

Drea looked up from where she sat with her head in her hands, the reports scattered beside her on the table, to see Fury standing in the doorway, “What?”

“I never admitted that I had no idea,” Fury told her, he pulled a chair over and sat across from her, “Both of you played me. And I never saw it.”

“You didn’t want to,” Drea replied harshly.

Fury stared at her.

“How could you not put it together?” Drea laughed in bemusement, “You are a master spy. We lived in the same building; he was in my apartment all the time and it was obvious I wasn’t living alone or that anyone was living in his apartment.”

“He stated you were friends,” Fury reminded her, “And he’d never lied to me before.”

“As tidy as he is,” Drea snapped, “Nobody is _that_ tidy.”

Fury stared at her, “What do you want me to say? That I knew and turned a blind eye to it? Or that I knew and I’m a romantic at heart.”

“Actually I think you knew and that you’re a bastard,” Drea retorted, “You waited until we felt safe and then you caught us. You used every trick you had to make sure you kept him in SHIELD. To make sure you didn’t lose one of your best agents.”

She stood bringing herself to his eye level, “Now we both might lose him. Good job.”

 

“I don’t understand,” Drea snapped as she stared at the pages in front of her before slamming them down, “There is nothing here. Tony, are you sure your scans are complete?”

“JARVIS checked everything,” Tony assured her, “He’s sure that there isn’t a scrap of metal in Coulson’s heart or anywhere else in his body.”

She sighed in annoyance and collapsed into the seat, “This is bizarre.”

“Could the shard you removed have been the last of it?” Pepper asked as she brought Drea some tea hoping to try and calm her a little.

Tony shook his head, “JARVIS checked all the original scans. Alexandrea is right; there was no metal in him.”

Drea sipped her tea, “So this has to have something to do with the spear.”

“Fury swears blind,” Tony smirked at his own choice of words, “The spear is hidden away safely.”

“Then what about the Tesseract,” Pepper mused as she absently took the pen Tony had begun to tap off the table away from him, “Could it be a reaction to someone using that?”

“There’s no way we can know,” Drea rubbed her hands over her eyes, “It’s away with Thor.”

Tony let out a small hum as he thought, “Maybe we can find a way to ask him?”

The two women looked at him bemused.

“How?” Pepper asked first.

Tony simply smirked and left the room.

*********************************************

Phil watched as Drea took a deep breath, dropping his hand before they entered the hospital waiting room. He’d never met any of her siblings so it was quite a shock to see how similar they all were. At thirty-seven Drea was the youngest of seven, the only child of Adam Grainger’s third wife but unless you knew that you never would. She quickly talked to the eldest before she embraced each.

“This is Agent Phil Coulson,” Drea suddenly introduced him, “Ph…Coulson, this is Mike, David, Charles, Eddie, Grant and Abigail.”

Phil nodded to each of them in greeting, he was about to leave when Mike stopped him.

“Coulson, you’re the one who protected Alex last year?” he demanded.

He saw the grimace cover Drea’s face at the hated nickname before he nodded, “I was assigned to keep her safe.”

Mike grabbed his hand, “Thank you.”

A little stunned Phil found himself thanked by each one of his unknowing in-laws before he touched Drea’s shoulder.

“I’m going to go to the cafeteria,” he told her, “Let me know if you need me.”

The smile she gave him said everything and he nodded before leaving her with her family.

 

Drea hadn’t expected Phil’s warm reception as the man who had protected her, so had been stunned her siblings had been so welcoming to him. It at least helped that they wouldn’t question his presence. The doctor appeared suddenly in the waiting room and they turned to him.

Drea stepped forward, “I’m Dr Alexandrea Grainger, is that my father’s chart?”

“I’m Dr Ellis,” he introduced himself, handing her the chart so she could see everything herself.

Drea studied the chart, trying to stay calm as she read it, “Can I see him?”

“Of course,” Ellis said, “I’ve asked that you limit the number of people in the room at any time. He needs his rest.”

“Of course,” Drea nodded, she turned to her brothers and sister, “Do any of you…”

“We’ve all been in to see him, sweetie,” Abigail told her, “You go

Drea nodded and headed in to see her father. 

 

Drea was a doctor, she’d worked in the ER of a New York hospital for years but she still wasn’t prepared to see her father so frail looking.

“Hi, Daddy,” Drea breathed as she reached his side. No matter how old she was he would always be ‘Daddy’.

The brown eyes that look up at her crinkled with fondness, “Baby girl,” he smiled at her, “I’m sorry I’m leaving you with such a burden.”

“Daddy,” she sighed.

“I wanted to give you more time before having to take over,” he whispered, “But you’re the only one who can.”

“I know,” Drea took his hand, “It’s what you trained me to do.”

“I also wanted to see you happily married,” he continued, “And walk you down the aisle, like I did for Abby.”

Guilt sliced through Drea and she found herself blurting out, “I’m already married.”

“What?”

“Stay calm, Daddy,” Drea told him as he became agitated.

Her father frowned at her, “When and to whom?”

“About a year ago,” Drea licked her lips, “He’s a SHIELD agent.”

Adam Grainger let out an annoyed sigh, “Alexandrea, are you insane?”

“He loves me,” Drea whispered, “And I love him.”

“Who is he?”

“Agent Phil Coulson,” she admitted.

“The agent Fury assigned to protect you?”

Drea winced at the look in her father’s eyes, “Nothing happened until a month after that. I didn’t want to hide this from you but we can’t let Fury know.”

Her father stared at her, “I want to meet him.”

 

“What?” Phil demanded.

“I told him,” Drea said, trying to make sure that none of her siblings or their families overheard.

Phil frowned, “Why?”

“Because I had to,” she replied, “Look I know this is…”

“Bad,” he finished for her.

“The monosyllabic thing is not helping,” she grimaced at him, “Look my father is very possibly dying and I couldn’t keep this from him. Besides, if any of them ask he wants to meet you because you protected me.”

Phil clenched his teeth trying to maintain his calm exterior that always served him well during any operation, about to tell her he wasn’t doing this.

Unfortunately that went to hell when Drea looked at him with ‘please do this for me’ in her soft brown eyes.

“Fine.”

With a sigh he followed her up to the hospital room where his father-in-law was waiting to meet him. Entering the room Phil forced himself to walk towards the man on the bed.

“Daddy,” Drea said moving to him, “This is Phil, my husband.”

Taking a deep breath Phil stepped forward.

Grainger looked at his daughter, “Alexandrea, I want to talk to him alone.”

Phil saw Drea grimace but she did as she was told squeezing his hand as she walked out the room, “If he gets agitated call me.”

Adam Grainger stared at him until Drea left the room, “What are you up to?”

“Excuse me?”

“Alexandrea is not someone SHIELD is going to use,” he snapped at Phil.

Phil stepped forward, “This has nothing to do with SHIELD. I didn’t mean for it to happen and I know considering what I do it’s dangerous but,” he paused; he’d never had to voice the feelings he had before to someone other than Drea, “I love her. And I am doing my best to make sure she is safe.”

Adam Grainger stared at him for a few moments before nodding, “Ask Alexandrea to come back in.”

Phil nodded; he opened the door and motioned her back inside. Drea slipped her hand into his as they moved to the bed.

“Daddy?”

Phil felt her squeeze his hand in nerves as they waited for her father to speak.

“Alexandrea,” her father sighed, “I’m not thrilled you hid this for me but as long as he loves you and you’re happy then you have my blessing.”

Drea smiled and hugged her father, “I am.”

 

Adam Grainger died three days later. 

Nothing during their marriage had been harder than the week following his death. Drea had been devastated and Phil hated that he couldn’t comfort her during the funeral or around any of the family gatherings.

In fact he was only allowed to stand and watch her from a distance as she stood during the funeral with her brother Charles, whose wife had died five years before. Phil could see she was barely holding on and really wanted to be able to support her but knew he wasn’t allowed to. Fury was standing beside him so he couldn’t even get her alone for a moment at the wake to console her. 

“Dr Grainger will be taking over the company,” Fury noted as they stayed in the fringes of the crowd at the wake.

“Sir,” Phil had been keeping his answers completely non-committal all day.

“We need to watch over her more than before,” Fury continued, “This is the time people may come after her.”

Phil froze, he hadn’t actually thought of that.

“This may mean you’ll have to be on guard,” Fury added, “Unless she decides to move out of the apartment she’s in just now.”

 

Drea nodded mechanically every time someone gave their condolences, she had it down to an art by now. Though she’d almost cracked when Phil had arrived in the line of people, Fury just behind him, and forced herself not to throw herself into his arms. The one week she had needed him most and they’d been unable to spend even a moment together.

“Alexandrea,” Abby brought her back to reality, “Do you want to stay with us tonight, sweetie?”

“I just want to sleep in my own bed,” Drea told her sister.

Abby nodded, “I’ll have Wendell drive you.”

“No,” Drea stopped Abby from calling her driver, “Agent Coulson lives in my building. I’ll ask him to take me.”

Abby stroked her cheek, “Are you sure?”

“Yeah,” Drea hugged her big sister, “I’ll call you.”

Relieved she was finally able to leave Drea took a deep breath and walked over to where Phil was standing unobtrusively, or as unobtrusively as you could when standing beside Nick Fury.

“Dr Grainger,” Fury said the moment she reached them, “Your father was a good man and I will miss him.”

“Thank you, Director,” Drea replied softly, trying to hold herself together for just a little longer, “I was hoping Agent Coulson would be able to drive me home, if he isn’t needed by you?”

Fury nodded, “Of course. Coulson, I’ll see you in a few days.”

Phil gave his boss a quick sharp nod, “Yes, sir,” before he motioned Drea forward.

As they walked she managed to not reach out and cling to him. When she sat in the passenger seat Drea dropped her head back and closed her eyes. She felt a gentle pressure on her hand for a brief second before the car started.

As soon as they reached the apartment Drea kicked off her shoes and dropped her coat on the floor before she crawled onto the bed. After a moment, she knew he put her shoes and coat away first, Phil slid onto the bed and wrapped her in his arms. As he held her close, Drea began to sob.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter.  
> Hope you enjoyed.

“My friend,” Thor boomed as he arrived on Earth, he grabbed Tony in a bone-crushing hug making the other man wince slightly, “It is good to see you.”

“You too,” Tony managed to say.

“The message I received was not complete,” Thor said, “And I believe may have been garbled. The Son of Coul is dying.”

Tony nodded.

“I saw Loki stab him,” Thor frowned confused, “We were told that he was dead before the battle.”

“We didn’t count on the fact that Coulson is married to Dr Frankenstein,” Tony chuckled.

Thor stared at him not understanding the reference but picking up on the new information on his friend, “You said he had no family.”

Tony shrugged, “As far as I knew he didn’t. Come and say hi.”

Thor nodded as Tony led him into the conference room where Pepper was sitting with Alexandrea.

Tony hoped Thor could help; he was beginning to worry about Alexandrea. He was pretty sure she hadn’t slept in a few days, her temper flared at the slightest provocation. He could only imagine what she was feeling right now; the thought of Pepper being close to death was enough to have him reaching for the nearest alcohol. There was no way he would still be conscious at this juncture.

“Lady Pepper,” Thor greeted her with a bow, taking her hand and kissing it, “It is wonderful to see you once more.”

“And you, Thor,” Pepper smiled, “Thank you for coming. This is Dr Alexandrea Grainger.”

Thor moved and took the other woman’s hand, “It is an honour to meet you. It is a pleasure to meet the beloved wife of my dear friend.”

“You know that used to be a secret,” Alexandrea noted to the room in general before smiling at Thor, “It’s wonderful to meet you. And I hope you’re able to help.”

 

Drea watched Thor as he moved to Phil’s bedside, the Asgardian nodded before speaking softly which she was amazed he could actually do.

“He is gravely ill,” Thor noted.

Drea nodded, “The spear seems to be regenerating in his heart and no matter what we do we can’t stop it. Please tell me you have some idea.”

He frowned, “I do not,” he continued before she could get too down-heartened, “But my father may.”

Drea stared at him, “Will he help?”

“I hope so,” Thor told her, “I will not lie to you, dear lady, my father may not wish to interfere but I shall do my best to persuade him. The son of Coul is a good man and I want to be able to help now. I was helpless to stop Loki.”

“Thank you.”

*********************************************

It was a rare Friday evening that they were both in the city, not working and there was nothing for them to do. Drea rested against her husband as they watched the movie.

“One of these days I’m going to get you to watch Casablanca,” Phil told her.

Drea chuckled, “Keep dreaming.”

She yawned, smiling as Phil pulled her closer. Closing her eyes she didn’t realise she was falling asleep, a little bemused when she opened her eyes and saw that the credits were rolling.

“Did I miss much?” she asked.

Phil chuckled, “Only the last hour.”

“Why didn’t you wake me?” she demanded, stretching slightly.

He shrugged, “You seemed to need your sleep. I’m guessing things are busy.”

Drea let out a long sigh, “I’m not my father and everyone is expecting so much. Including your boss.”

“Sorry,” he whispered into her hair, “Wish I could do more.”

“Just promise me you’ll be here all weekend,” Drea groaned.

He nodded before adding, “As long as nothing comes up.”

“You do know you just jinxed us,” Drea shook her head before kissing him; “I’m going to bed.”

 

Phil was sleeping happily, Drea cuddled close to him. It had been a rough few months for them. First with Drea’s father dying, then trying to act as liaison between SHIELD and her company was exhausting. Any time they saw one another in the past few months there seemed to be people everywhere and he felt he was letting her down by not being able to give her the support she needed.

“Yes, sir,” he answered his phone when it rang pulling him out of his contented sleep.

“Coulson,” Fury’s voice came through loudly, “Need you back at base. Also need you to bring Dr Grainger.”

Phil reached out and quickly covered his wife’s mouth when he realised she was waking up.

“Is there something wrong?” he asked, gesturing who was on the other end of the call so Drea would stay quiet.

“Nothing is wrong,” Fury assured, “There’s just something I need her to look into.”

“I’ll see if she’s able to come in,” Phil promised before hanging up and groaning.

At his side Drea groaned as well, “I told you. You jinxed us.”

Phil shook his head, getting up he turned to her, “Are you coming in?”

“Yes,” she smiled at him, “But I protested vehemently.”

He rolled his eyes.

“Go, have your shower and I’ll make breakfast,” Drea told him.

 

“Good morning,” Fury managed to fill his greeting with sarcasm.

“Sir,” Phil nodded slightly.

Drea however gave him a bright smile, “Good morning, Director. Why did you send someone to get me up early on the first day off I’ve had in months?”

“I expected you at least an hour ago, Agent Coulson,” Fury ignored her as he started walking.

“I made him wait until I had breakfast,” Drea gave another smile, “Now why am I here?”

“I wanted your opinion on something,” Fury told her, “Have you ever seen anything like this?”

Drea watched the screen where a large gash was healed in a man’s arm by what looked like blue gel. She stared at it before turning to Fury, “Is that the stolen BR5?”

“We think so. This was caught by one of our teams last night,” Fury told her, “We have a sample so you can check.”

Drea nodded, “Excellent. I’ll look at it before I pass it to my R&D department.”

“Coulson, if you would accompany Dr Grainger to lab 3,” Fury told him.

 

“If you stand any closer,” Drea murmured as she studied the gel, “I may have to file a sexual harassment suit.”

“Just trying to make sure you have everything you need,” Phil murmured back.

Drea smiled at him, “Not exactly the weekend we had planned.”

“It could be worse,” he shot back, making her smile some more.

“Tell Fury it’ll take an hour or so before the tests are complete then I’ll have to pass it to my team,” she told him, “Then I’m going for lunch.”

She grimaced as she heard the very small sigh coming from behind her.

“I’m afraid I will be unable to escort you back to your apartment,” Phil stated, letting her know they were no longer alone, “If you need anything from SHIELD in the next few weeks please contact Agent Jacobson.”

Drea turned and shook her head, “Jinx.”

*********************************************

“Wow!”

It was the only word that came to mind as Drea got her first look at Thor’s home. 

“Seconded,” Tony murmured from her side.

Drea managed to pull herself away from staring so she could check Phil had made the journey to Asgard safely. Thor had returned to Earth barely two hours before and proclaimed his father would allow them to come to Asgard to see what he could do for the injured friend of his son.

“My friends,” Thor brought their attention to him, “Welcome to my home. Follow me, my father is waiting for us in the grand hall.”

Drea waved away the men who moved to help them with the gurney. She and Tony had agreed that one of them would be at Phil’s side at all times.

“Do you think I could get a holiday home here?” Tony asked as they moved closer to the palace, “Pepper would love it.”

Drea gave him a tight smile, “I think the travel expenses might be out of even our league.”

He smirked at her and not for the first time that day Drea was glad he’d told her he was coming along.

 

“Father,” Thor stepped forward and knelt in front of the man standing in front of the throne, “My friends Tony Stark, Alexandrea Grainger and this is Phil, Son of Coul.”

“Welcome to Asgard,” Odin said his voice soft reminding Drea of her own father, “My son has spoken highly of you all.”

“Your son has been a good friend,” Tony spoke up, “We owe him a great deal.”

Drea managed not to smile; she always forgot that Tony Stark was a businessman who could sweet talk almost anyone when he put his mind to it.

“We must take the Son of Coul to a healing chamber,” Odin told them, as Drea started to move he stopped her, “We will care for him.”

“Please,” Drea whispered, “I can’t leave him. I need to make sure…”

“Father,” Thor intervened as Drea trailed off, “Alexandrea is his mate.”

Odin nodded, “Of course. Come with me.”

Drea sighed in relief as Odin walked her through the corridors of the palace. As intimidating as he appeared with the helmet and gold eye-patch Drea felt oddly comforted by his presence. 

They entered the healing room just as Phil was being placed on the bed. Drea automatically moved towards him but was stopped by Odin.

“You must allow us to heal him,” he told her, “You may stay but until we have finished then you must remain back.” Odin rested his hand on her cheek, “I know that this frustrates you, my dear but I promise you that we shall heal him.”

*********************************************

Phil marched through the corridors of Grainger Medical HQ towards Drea’s office. The news of what had happened at the Stark Expo had only just reached him along with the report from the agents who had been shadowing his wife. He marched past her assistant; she had been told that he was always allowed in no matter what was happening.

“What the hell were you thinking?” he snapped after he slammed the door shut.

“Hi, honey,” Drea looked up from her computer with a blithe smile, “I thought you were away?”

Phil clenched his jaw, “Drea, what were you doing at the Expo? You knew something was going to happen.”

“I wanted to see what that ass Justin Hammer had to show,” she shrugged. “Fury didn’t have any issue with me going until the ‘killer exploding robots’. And the agents assigned to accompany me got me out in one piece before anything happened.”

Phil gritted his teeth, “Drea…”

She moved to him and took his hands, “I am fine. If you can get home tonight you can examine me thoroughly.”

“This isn’t funny,” Phil frowned at her, “You’re my wife, I’m allowed to be worried when I find out you were that close to…” he grimaced before using her phrase, “Killer exploding robots.”

Drea kissed him, “I’m fine.”

“You’re sure?” he asked.

She kissed him again, “Yes, my darling husband. I am perfectly fine.”

He let out a long sigh and rested his forehead against hers, “You scared the hell out of me.”

“I know and I’m sorry,” Drea whispered before kissing him properly this time.

“Does one of you want to explain what’s going on?” a familiar voice pulled them back to the room.

Phil winced as he saw his boss standing in the doorway, “Sir.”

“I think we’ve just been busted,” Drea murmured softly before she turned to Fury, “What can I do for you, Director?”

“You can explain why Agent Coulson just referred to you as his wife,” Fury replied, pinning them with a dark glare making them realise he’d been there for a while.

Phil had known that this would happen one day but in all honesty he’d hoped it wouldn’t.

“Alexandrea and I have been married for well over a year,” Phil stated.

Fury stared at him for a few moments, “You and I need to have a conversation, Agent.”

 

Phil stood outside the door to the apartment he and Drea shared not sure how to start this discussion. He finally opened the door and headed in not sure what to expect.

“If you want dinner,” Drea called from the couch as he closed the door, “You’ll have to make it yourself. I already ate.”

“I’m not hungry,” Phil took the seat beside her.

Drea picked up the papers sitting by her side and handed them to Phil. Frowning he flipped through them completely bemused.

“They’re divorce papers,” Drea stated at his confused look.

“I know what they are,” Phil replied, “Where did they come from and what are they doing here?”

“I had them drawn up about a month after we decided not to sign the annulment papers,” she explained with a shrug, “And now Fury knows we need them.”

“You think I’ll choose SHIELD over you?” Phil asked, hurt by the assumption.

Drea shook her head sadly, “I know you have to. Phil, I had no illusions when we went into this. The moment Fury knew then…” she trailed off.

“I can leave SHIELD,” he whispered. 

Drea shook her head, “And do what? They will cut you out and we both know it. No matter what you tried to do. You are a SHIELD agent, you can’t not be.”

“I don’t want to divorce you,” Phil sighed.

“You won’t,” she smiled at him, “You sign them, I won’t. Fury has absolutely no way to force me to. We’ll still be married and we’ll work something out.”

Phil started to laugh slightly, “You know this is insane.”

“When does Fury want your decision?” Drea asked.

“Tomorrow morning.”

Drea slid into his lap and wrapped her arms around him, “Then you sign them tomorrow morning.”

*********************************************

Consciousness returned to Phil and he became aware of someone near him. The shadow of an arm above him crossed his face and he reached out catching it.

“Peace, Son of Coul,” a voice he didn’t recognise said, “You are safe here.”

Opening his eyes Phil stared at the man standing above him, he was old with white hair but the thing Phil focussed on was the eye-patch the man had, on the opposite eye to Fury’s. The mode of address made him pause and he decided to go for direct.

“Who are you and where am I?”

The man smiled pulling his arm away so Phil would let go, “You are in Asgard. My son brought you here so we could heal your wounds.”

“You’re Odin?” Phil pushed himself to sit up, surprised that there was no pain.

Odin nodded.

He looked down at his chest where amazed to see the wound was no longer there and was now just a white scar that was barely noticeable.

“Thank you,” Phil said softly.

“You must rest,” Odin told him, “It will take several more hours before you are whole once more.”

Phil nodded, knowing he was safe if Thor had brought him to Asgard to be healed. As the man moved he spotted the figure curled up on a bed across from him, “Drea?”

“Your lady did not wish to leave your side,” Odin told him, “She has only just entered her slumber. Rest, Son of Coul and I will speak to you anon.”

As the father of Thor left Phil decided not to think about it and closed his eyes to sleep.

 

Phil opened his eyes, it was still dark outside so he was about to go back to sleep when he heard a soft sigh. He turned and saw Drea leaning against the wall staring out the window, her posture telling him how exhausted she was. Sliding off the bed he padded over and gently touched her shoulder letting her know he was there.

Drea gasped slightly as she spun before relief covered her face, wrapping her arms around him and dropped her head against his shoulder.

“Hey,” he soothed, “I’m okay.”

Drea pulled back, “Let me see.”

Phil stood patiently as Drea’s fingers gently probed the now almost nonexistent scar on his chest; she touched his arm so he would turn allowing her to check his back.

“Ow,” Phil winced suddenly.

“So you’re not completely healed,” Drea noted grimly.

Phil chuckled, “That was your nails digging into my skin.”

Before she could say anything else Phil pulled her into a kiss, “Come to bed. You need to sleep.”

Drea allowed him to pull her to the bed and he fell asleep again with his wife cuddled close.

 

The next morning Phil woke up finding Drea fast asleep wrapped in his arms. He wasn’t precisely sure how long had passed since they’d had lunch in the cafe but he knew she needed to sleep. He eased away from her making sure he didn’t wake her, resting the covers over her and gently kissing her forehead before he found the bag she’d brought. Dressing quickly in the comfortable clothes Drea had packed he slipped out the room leaving her to rest.

“You’re not wearing a suit?” a familiar and unexpected voice greeted him when he entered what appeared to be a lounge of some kind; “I didn’t know you owned anything else.”

“Stark?” Phil stared, a little confused to see the annoying genius sitting on a couch.

The billionaire grinned at him before another voice interrupted them.

“My friend,” Thor appeared and clapped Phil’s shoulder, “It is good to see you whole once more.”

Phil smiled at the enthusiastic demi-god, “It’s good to see you also, Thor. I would like to thank your father again for saving my life.”

“He will speak with you before we return you to Earth,” Thor assured him, “Is the Lady Alexandrea still resting?”

Phil nodded.

“And that was my next question,” Stark bounced up, “What the hell?”

Phil sighed, “I’m not sure what you mean, Mr Stark?”

“Alexandrea told Pepper that you guys are letting Fury keep you apart,” he shook his head, “Why?”

“It’s complicated,” Phil stated coldly, not wanting to have this conversation with anyone never mind Stark.

“The whole she’s too high profile to be married to you?” Stark mocked, “I’m Iron Man and Pepper has no issue with that.”

“Neither Pepper nor you have done what I have,” Phil retorted, “There are people who will happily use Drea to get back at me.”

“And you don’t think people haven’t tried to get to Pepper to use against me?” Stark shrugged, “There are ways to protect her without you two being miserable and, if you’re working with us, I’m not putting up with you being miserable. There’s the tower, I’m letting each of the Avengers have space there. There’s room for you and with us there she’ll be safe. And I will upgrade her security systems to something similar to JARVIS.”

Phil stared at him, trying to work out if he was somehow still on morphine without knowing it. But as Stark grinned at him he began to smile slightly.

 

Drea didn’t want to wake up, she didn’t want to move and return to Earth because then she would have to let him go again. No matter how often she told herself she could deal with this, she was beginning to admit she couldn’t.

Knowing she had no choice Drea finally slid out of the bed and dressed, she pulled a brush through her hair trying to get her mask in place before she had to face everyone.

“Morning,” Phil said suddenly, making her jump.

Drea couldn’t stop her smile, “Morning,” she closed her eyes as he kissed her before forcing herself to step back from him.

“Drea?”

“I can’t do this anymore,” she shook her head sadly, “I can’t. I have to sign the papers, I have to. I love you, I do but after this I just,” she pressed the heel of her hands against her eyes, “You nearly died, so many times in the past few weeks.”

“Honey,” Phil whispered moving into her, “Look at me,” as she shook her head he touched her chin, “Come on, look at me,” when her brown eyes locked with his he rested his forehead against hers his hand resting against her cheek, “We are ripping those papers up. Of all people Tony Stark is in our corner.”

“I don’t know if I can,” Drea sighed exhaustion filling her voice.

“Do you love me?”

“That’s a really stupid question,” Drea told him.

Phil chuckled, sliding his fingers through her hair, “I nearly died, apparently a lot. I’ve had enough of sneaking moments with you. Your father gave us his blessing; we have Stark and the other Avengers on our side, which let’s face it is a pretty frightening prospect. Drea, we’re fighting for each other.”

“Is that an order, Agent Coulson?” she asked with an impish smile.

Phil smiled back, “Yes it is, Dr Grainger.”

*********************************************

Drea watched the reruns on the news about the incident in New York, recognising Barton and Romanov in the pictures. That meant SHIELD was involved and if they were then Phil definitely was, especially with the resurrected Captain America also in the mix.

She was surprised that he hadn’t managed to contact her in some way to tell her about his boyhood hero’s sudden reappearance, a little disappointed too.

“Dr Grainger,” her assistant’s voice came over the comm.

“Yes, Maddie?”

“Director Fury has asked that you meet him in the medical centre,” Maddie told her, “He said it’s urgent.”

Annoyed Drea started downstairs, her interactions with Fury were never pleasant to begin with and after he’d discovered her marriage to one of his best agents they became less so. Reaching the floor she was about to demand what he was doing there but stopped as she saw the reason.

“Oh my God,” she gasped, moving to the suspension chamber the Director was standing beside, “Phil?” she turned to Fury, “What the hell happened?”

“Agent Coulson was trying to stop an invader,” Fury told her, “He was stabbed in the back with a spear.”

“With a what?” she asked shakily.

Fury continued, “He was originally pronounced dead but the medical team managed to revive him. He’s been in cryogenic suspension until we could get him here.”

Drea pressed her hand against her forehead trying to focus, “Why here?”

“The implant you sent me the report about,” Fury told her. 

Drea stared at him, “That isn’t ready. We haven’t finished all the tests, it could kill him.”

“Without it he’ll die anyway,” Fury reminded her.

 

Drea took a deep breath before she entered the operating theatre, she couldn’t believe this was happening. She hated Fury more than she normally did right now.

Phil was still in the cryogenic suspension and would only be unfrozen when they were ready to use the implant. So close but something was between them. It was a pretty accurate metaphor for them lately.

“Dr Sanders,” she turned to the man who was checking the prototype so they could begin the surgery.

“I’m almost ready, Dr Grainger,” he assured her.

“Thank you,” she breathed, “I’ll be in the gallery if you need me to assist in any way.”

Sanders nodded, though looked a little bemused.

As she walked into the gallery to watch over the surgery she found Fury waiting for her.

“Will this work?”

“I told you already I have no idea,” she sighed before straightening and hitting him with a dark glare, “Now, I want the full story of how my husband ended up with a hole in his chest.”

*********************************************

“I apologise for this,” Odin told them as they stood ready to return to Earth, “We were unaware that you had survived my son’s attack. When I used the Teserract to ensure the Spear could never be used again, the connection between it and the energy left within you, Son of Coul recreated the blade.”

“You have nothing to apologise for, sir,” Phil said, Drea at his side his arm wrapped around her waist, “You saved my life. I am extremely grateful for everything you have done for me.”

“We are allies,” Odin stated, “My son will accompany you home and you are always welcome here.”

Phil smiled, “Thank you.”

“My friends,” Thor’s cheerful voice preceded his and Tony’s arrival, “If you are ready, we can return.”

“Sir,” Tony gave Odin a quick half bow, “Thank you for your wonderful hospitality. If you feel the need for a vacation let me know and I can find you somewhere nice to spend a few weeks on Earth.”

Phil rolled his eyes hearing his wife chuckle softly, only Tony Stark would offer a Norse God a holiday home.

Odin nodded graciously before motioning for the connection to Earth to be opened.

 

“Dr Grainger.”

“Director Fury.”

They stood on opposite sides of his desk, Phil had been sent to the medical section for a full check-up so Drea had decided to talk to Fury before he was able to. She knew that she was the one who had to bargain with Fury and needed to do it before Phil was able to take the lead in the discussion.

“I don’t like you,” Drea told him, “And I trust you even less. But Phil believes in you so we are going to have this discussion before he gets here.”

“Really?” Fury challenged.

“I love him,” Drea stated coldly, “And he loves me. I will move somewhere that you deem is safe; I will let Tony Stark secure the hell out of it. I will let your goons shadow my every step even more than I do now. I will do whatever you feel is necessary to protect me as long as you agree to leave us alone and acknowledge our marriage.”

“It was not my decision for you to divorce,” Fury reminded her, “He signed the papers.”

Drea let out an annoyed sigh, “Because I made him. Seriously, Fury in all the time you’ve known me do you really think I didn’t go through every possibility? I had those papers drawn up a month after we decided to be together.”

He said nothing as she stopped speaking for a moment

“He would have quit for me,” she told him, “He will quit for me. But you need him and he believes in SHIELD, he believes in you so I’m willing to compromise as long as you are.”

 

“This is not a permanent situation,” Drea noted as she finished putting away her clothes in the small apartment in Stark Tower.

“I know,” Phil smiled from the doorway.

“I am not living in the same building as Tony Stark and the rest of the goon squad for more than a few months,” she continued, walking towards him.

Phil nodded.

“If Fury thinks this will change my mind…” she stopped as Phil kissed her.

“Has the rant finished?” he asked with a slight smile when they parted.

Drea frowned before rolling her eyes, “For the moment.”

“Pepper has ordered food and I did promise we’d join them for dinner tonight,” Phil reminded her.

Drea smiled at him, “They’re happy you’re alive. I can understand that.”

Wrapping his arm around her Phil drew her towards the main area where the Avengers were already gathered dishing out the food Pepper had ordered.

“So,” Tony said as the couple joined them, “Do I get the story now?”


End file.
